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May 22, 2023

Mitchell Tech grad Beck receives 2023 Student Veteran Leadership Award

MITCHELL — During his time as a student at Mitchell Technical College, Denton Beck made an impression on his fellow students and instructors. “(He) is the type of student every instructor dreams of —

MITCHELL — During his time as a student at Mitchell Technical College, Denton Beck made an impression on his fellow students and instructors.

“(He) is the type of student every instructor dreams of — he is hard-working, kind and extremely motivated. He doesn’t need directions repeated — he takes the task and figures out a way to get it done,” Mateya Berg, interim advisor for the technical school’s Student Veterans Organization and student success coach at the school, wrote in reference to Beck.

That kind of attitude served the Pierre native well on the Mitchell campus, where in May he graduated with a degree from the Diesel Power - Light Truck program. That attitude helped see him step into the leadership role for the Student Veterans Organization on short notice, and even guided him through a campus improvement project that graces the school grounds today.

It also recently earned him a prestigious recognition. Denton was earlier this month named one of 32 college students from around the country to receive the 2023 Student Veterans Leadership Award. The award is given out by Military Friendly, an organization recognizing businesses, schools and individuals for their commitment to investing in improving the lives of veterans. The recipients were listed in the latest issue of G.I. Jobs magazine.

“It was pretty cool,” Beck told the Mitchell Republic in a recent interview.

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Beck grew up in Pierre around his family’s gravel and construction business, B&B Equipment. He joined the service out of high school, and found himself with the 155th Engineer Company of the South Dakota Army National Guard in Parkston, just down the road from Mitchell Technical College.

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Attending Mitchell Technical College appealed to him due to its close proximity to his base of operations in Parkston and the skills he could learn that would benefit his work as a mechanic in the National Guard. After enrolling at the school, he brought his can-do, friendly disposition with him to the campus Student Veterans Organization, where he got to know fellow students who also served in the military.

He fit in so well that the organization adviser, Whitney Bruinsma, looked to him to take over leadership of the group when she was called to deploy on duty. Beck stepped into the role to keep the organization moving ahead, serving as president of the organization in his final year on campus before graduation.

The 20-year-old said keeping the group vital was important for its members, who number over 30. Having an organization where veteran students could gather, talk and share common experiences was a great way to network, hear stories about being on duty abroad and meet new friends with similar goals.

“I made sure I was equipped to provide new students the full experience of comradery that I had last year,” Beck said. “You can instantly start up a conversation and hear really cool stories in the SVO lounge — where they’ve been and what their jobs were. You wouldn’t get that in any other club. There are a lot of kids, even in my program, who were in the military and they’ve been to all sorts of countries.”

As if taking over the leadership role for the group while also studying and going to class wasn’t enough, Beck found time to enhance life on the school campus for all its students. He held a fundraiser pancake feed that helped raise awareness of the campus organization while also bringing in funds to construct a new nine-hole disc golf course on campus.

It was an organization-wide effort, but Beck is credited with spearheading the initiative and seeing it through.

“This project was led by SVO, but it was single-handedly coordinated by him,” Berg said. “(Beck) saw having a disc golf course right on campus as an avenue to promote camaraderie among students and provide something to do that didn’t require a long drive.”

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The course was designed by Beck, and he brought in help in the form of fellow students and programs, all while keeping up with his classes and maintaining a 3.95 grade point average. The course is laid out around an on-campus pond between Campus Tech Apartments and the Nordby Trades Center. Geospatial students at the school helped map the course, and Machining and Manufacturing students helped design and cut hole numbers. Welding students helped design and fabricate the holes.

In addition, the Architectural Design and Building Construction students formed and poured concrete and did dirt work for the project.

Beck said it made sense to look to fellow students and instructors to help with the course.

“We have all of these trades at this school that others don’t have. Why not use what we have and some of this open space and try to do something for the students on campus to do?” Beck said. “Mitchell Tech is pretty good — we’ve got a gym and a student lounge. Now we’ve got a frisbee golf course.”

Beck has been busy away from campus since his graduation, but he expects activity on the new course will pick up as students return to campus in the fall after the summer break. But a few interested parties have already taken a shine to the course.

“I think there’s a little wear and tear on them, so I imagine a couple of people have gone out there,” Beck said.

Beck’s next stop with the National Guard is Brookings, where he will continue his service. But he won’t soon forget his experience in Mitchell and at Mitchell Technical College, where found a way to both improve himself and the lives of his fellow veterans and other students.

And he’s glad the school is getting some exposure from his projects there, as well.

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“A lot of the people you see in that magazine are from huge colleges, so to see Mitchell Technical College recognized is pretty cool,” Beck said. “I have to thank the students and everyone who helped me out. It’s pretty awesome.”

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